Thursday, June 14, 2012

A surprise

I let out a sigh.
"That's what I like to hear!" Sharkey said excitedly
"What, defeat?" I asked.
"We'll be back tonight." He said as I got out of my sleeping.
Walking 11 miles that day to the train station(that crossed the trail) gave me a lot of time to think, and I ultimately decided I would have a better story going with Sharkey and Rummy. I was the first one to the train station, which was just a small wooden platform that said Appalachian Trail. There was a garden center near by that let us shower, and we put our pacs in the back under some tarps. At 2:45 the train pulled up and we were excited to get on and sit for 2 hours in cushioned seats, and I had never taken a train anywhere. The train got more and more crowded the closer we got and by the time we stopped it was packed but we had a blast being the loud group. When we got off the train it was extreme culture shock, tons of people all moving different directions, and no white blazes to follow. Our first order of business was to get our return tickets on the train back at 9:45. When we got to the front of the line we were informed that trains back to the A.T. station only ran in the mornings. Sharkey was convinced his guide book said 9:45pm but there it was in black and white, AM. We were trapped until morning! Luckily I went to college with a girl who lived in the city Annie, and her roommates were gone so we were able to crash on her couches. We left Grand Central and headed towards time square to meet my friend. We passed the library and walked up 42nd to time square, and met her surprisingly easily. First order of business was food so we went a few blocks over and got a good New York pizza. Then we walked down 5th avenue to the Apple store which is next to central park, and across from the plaza hotel. We passed the empire state building, and rockefeller center on the way, we also stopped in St. Patrick's Cathedral. After all that walking we were hungry again surprise surprise, so we went to junior's and got some cheese cake, another NYC must. It was getting late, so we found our way to the subway and rode it uptown to 86th then walked a few more block's to Annie's apartment, by the time we got there it was after midnight. The next morning we got up at 5:45 to catch the subway back to grand central to get our tickets back to the A.T. We even arrived early enough to have time to get some bagels before we left. Over all it was a great trip! Having bear bell chicken with us made it even more special. Thank you again Annie!!!











4 comments:

  1. What day was the NYC visit Liam? I was there this past weekend visiting Matthew and Stephanie. Did you realize they live in Brooklyn and work in Manhatten? Anyway, glad you got off the trail for a bit and had some fun. Did I read an earlier post that you will be in the Black Hills this summer? Come see us please! Cindi

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  2. NYC? I couldn't have been more surprised! Sounds fun. Mom

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  3. Sacrilege that you had never been on a train with your Granddad being a retired railroad man! Ask your dad about some of the funny train stories (and the train wreck)from our travels to and from Florida!!! It had also been a teradition to miss the last train home and spend time in the Miss-your-train bar ;) (It was expensive to phone home, so we'd make a collect call from Miss Urtran Bar and the family would know to meet us for the following train from NYC.)

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  4. Glad I could shelter you all for the night! Enjoy the rest of your trip.

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